Animals – The National Wildlife Federation Bloghttp://blog.nwf.org
The National Wildlife Federation's blogThu, 24 May 2018 16:06:07 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.513925931210+ Naturalist Resources for Identifying Wildlifehttp://blog.nwf.org/2014/10/10-naturalist-resources-for-identifying-wildlife/
http://blog.nwf.org/2014/10/10-naturalist-resources-for-identifying-wildlife/#commentsWed, 15 Oct 2014 18:41:36 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=98876The animals we see, the sounds we hear, the forests, meadows and riverbanks we explore, all tell a story. As curious individuals, it can be difficult to recognize what we’re looking at, and lugging around field guides can add a substantial load. Luckily, there are a number of sites that can help us identify a feather, track down an animal print or teach us more about a flower. This knowledge increases our understanding and appreciation of the story told by the natural world. As you explore, it helps to record details on your observations (size, color, shape, etc.) in a journal, snap a picture or sketch what you see.

Once you have that information, these sites can steer you in the right direction and hopefully lead to an identification!

Birds, Nests and Feathers

The Feather Atlas (pictured) by the Forensics Lab at USFWS Additional Online Search Resources – Resource to help identify feathers.

Additional Resources:

Record your observations of plants and animals with Wildlife Watch. Browse local wildlife records, or print a species checklist for your area.

Searching for Answers…

One of the most helpful ways to get down the right path in identification is using search engines like Google or Bing to head down the right path. I always consider my location-specific resources (like educational institutions, nonprofits or local government resources) and connect with local naturalists whenever possible. Please share your favorite identification resources in the space below!

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2014/10/10-naturalist-resources-for-identifying-wildlife/feed/898876Five Great Lakes Species Facing a New Threat from Big Oilhttp://blog.nwf.org/2013/09/five-great-lakes-species-facing-a-new-threat-from-big-oil/
http://blog.nwf.org/2013/09/five-great-lakes-species-facing-a-new-threat-from-big-oil/#commentsThu, 19 Sep 2013 13:26:29 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=85606The Great Lakes are the world’s largest surface freshwater ecosystem and their waters and shoreline areas provide habitat for a breathtaking array of wildlife. But with a recent increase in oil surging through aging pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac —the narrow waterway connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron—the chance of a devastating spill in the Great Lakes has greatly increased.

Great Blue Heron

Photo by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Barbi Martinson.

Found across the Great Lakes region, this wading bird with the impressive wingspan up to six-and-a-half feet often hunts by standing perfectly motionless in shallow waters. During the Kalamazoo River oil spill in 2010, oil pooled up in the shallows and overbanks where heron fish—resulting in heavy oiling and stress.

Piping Plover

Piping Plover by Ken Lee

Endangered piping plovers nest on the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan where their tiny young chicks blend in with pebbles and beach stones. When the fluffy chicks sense danger, they hunker silently to the ground. Recovery of oil along the beaches of our Great Lakes would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, with impacts remaining for decades as seen with the Exxon Valdez and Enbridge Kalamazoo River oil spilla. In large spills it is very unusual to recover even 10% of spilled oil, meaning that once spilled, there is little that can be done to clean it up.

River Otter

These master swimmers spend most of their time in or near water and are very sensitive to environmental pollution. In the Kalamazoo River oil spill, larger mammals, like otters, continued to take shelter from recovery efforts by trying to hide in the oiled water and shorelines, making the situation a matter of life or death. The area that will be most impacted from an oil spill at the Straits of Mackinac are the shorelines, which are the places otters call home.

Bald Eagle

The majestic bald eagle has been taken off the endangered species list, thanks to a pesticide ban and the Endangered Species Act facilitating its recovery. But we must be ever vigilant to keep them healthy. Bald eagles spend their days fishing the shorelines of lakes and rivers. The Exxon Valdez oil spill killed hundreds of eagles and a large oil spill in the Great Lakes would pose similar risks.

Blandings Turtle

Benimoto/flikr

A very timid turtle that is easily scared back into its shell, this aquatic dweller is on the threatened species lists of several Great Lakes states. Turtles were greatly impacted during the Kalamazoo River oil spill, with thousands needing to be recovered and rehabilitated. Recover efforts took an interesting turn when the turtles being tagged and released were showing back up at the rescue facility re-oiled. Many turtles have a homing mechanism, causing them to go to the exact location they were captured, which caused them to become re-oiled due to the difficulties in removing tar sands oil out of the river.

A Disastrous Oil Spill Could Happen in the Great Lakes

Just this summer, the Canadian oil giant that owns the 60 year-old pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac increased the flow of oil by 2.1 million gallons per day. If a spill occurred in the fast-moving currents that are just west of Mackinac Island, the oil would reach the Island in only three hours, and would reach Michigan’s Wilderness State Park in only six. Wildlife wouldn’t have a chance if toxic oil from a ruptured pipeline spews into Lake Michigan and onto its beaches.

The Wall Street Journal asks a great question this morning: Who would win if any animal could compete in this weekend’s Belmont Stakes with no rider required? Journal writers Geoff Foster and Jim Chairusmi call it the Wild Kingdom Stakes, but without any birds included, from land-runners like ostrich to blazing-fast fliers like the golden eagle, we’ll call it the Land Mammal Stakes.

If you’re a fan of big cats like me, a cheetah was the first contestant to come to mind. But the sprinters are short on stamina and like all cats, long on laziness:

9. Cheetah

The morning-line favorite. Having a fancy title like “World’s Fastest Land Animal” is going to get you a lot of betting action. But this isn’t a sprint—and the cheetah has no chance. Dr. Lindstedt estimates it would blast out of the starting gate, and after 20 seconds, would open up a 950-foot lead on the fastest thoroughbred. After that? You may find him napping in the infield.

Instead, scientists say a track star of the American West would finish far ahead of the Belmont’s thoroughbred horses:

8. Pronghorn

The wiseguy pick. They may not be as sexy as some of the other competitors, but pronghorns have an ideal mix of speed and endurance. Dr. Lindstedt says for a 1 ½ mile distance, they could likely reach a blistering pace of 50 mph. Added bonus: They are local, hailing from Western states like Wyoming and Colorado. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

But it gets even more interesting, according to Bruce Stein, the National Wildlife Federation’s director of climate change adaptation.

“The pronghorn’s blazing speed is apparently an evolutionary response to predation by the American cheetah, an animal that went extinct in the Pleistocene,” says Bruce. “So in some ways, it truly is a race between pronghorn and cheetah!”

While pronghorns evolved their speed and endurance for outrunning predators and long migrations, today their biggest threats are cars, fences, and habitat loss. In fact, two subspecies – Peninsular pronghorns and Sonoran pronghorns – are on the Endangered Species List. Learn more about how the National Wildlife Federation is working to protect pronghorns.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2013/06/would-an-american-win-the-land-mammal-belmont-stakes/feed/080970Wendy Williams Meets “Hot” Desert Animalshttp://blog.nwf.org/2013/06/wendy-williams-meets-hot-desert-animals/
http://blog.nwf.org/2013/06/wendy-williams-meets-hot-desert-animals/#respondWed, 05 Jun 2013 14:15:37 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=80945NWF’s celebrity naturalist David Mizejewski’s latest TV appearance on The Wendy Williams Show was all about Wendy’s “hot” ratings. To complement the show’s theme, David brought in some desert animals including a fennec fox, a baby camel, an uromastyx and a baby red kangaroo. As always, Wendy was enthusiastic about the animals and asked some great questions! For instance, how can viewers like you help protect wildlife?

In honor of this annual celebration of National Wildlife Federation’s 40-year-old Certified Wildlife Habitat program, I brought some “backyard wildlife” on my Today Show segment this week. But these animals are definitely NOT the songbirds and butterflies that typically show up in a wildlife-friendly garden.

Instead, I brought species that might surprise you if you spotted them in your garden. My goal was to let folks know that species other than birds and butterflies need our help and can benefit from wildlife-friendly gardens, and also to point out what to do to avoid conflict with some of these species.

I mean, groundhogs, alligators and beavers aren’t necessarily the most welcome species in the garden. But two other predators I featured in the segment definitely are species you want around.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2013/05/today-show-surprising-backyard-wildlife/feed/079750Weekly News Roundup- April 26, 2013http://blog.nwf.org/2013/04/weekly-news-roundup-april-26-2013/
http://blog.nwf.org/2013/04/weekly-news-roundup-april-26-2013/#respondFri, 26 Apr 2013 18:26:31 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=79533Want to know what National Wildlife Federation was up to this week? Here is a recap of the week’s NWF news:

April 25– For more than a century, American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives have suffered the impacts of hardrock mining while enjoying few of its benefits.

A new National Wildlife Federation report,Honoring the River: How Hardrock Mining Impacts Tribal Communities tells the story of hardrock mining and tribes, from the checkered history of federal legislation allowing mining companies to lease minerals on tribal lands—often without tribal consent—to the many new mines being proposed near tribal communities.

“Access to clean drinking water, clean air, and healthy fish and game are inherent human rights that no lawmaker can give away,” said Mike Wiggins, chairman of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, whose land has been threatened by Gogebic Taconite’s proposed open-pit iron mine. “Some of the environmental impacts, like acid mine drainage, will last into perpetuity.”

April 25 -Copper Mesa and Flagstone elementary schools in Douglas County were awarded Green Flags Thursday from the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA program for their exceptional achievement in conserving natural resources and integrating environmental education into the curriculum.

The schools are the first in Colorado to earn the Green Flag and just the 14th and 15th nationwide. The award is the highest in the Eco-Schools program, an international network of 41,000 K-12 schools in 53 countries. The National Wildlife Federation is the program’s US host.

“We in the regional office of the National Wildlife Federation are proud that these two Colorado schools are part of an elite group of students, faculty and staff members dedicated to ‘greening’ their schools and hands-on education,” said Ann Morgan, NWF’s regional executive director

April 20– In celebration of Earth Day, the National Wildlife Federation is making its first donation to Golden Gate Cetacean Research. The donation is in support of the organization’s work to help keep the porpoises in San Francisco Bay. It is the first step in a multi-year campaign to raise $500,000 for the animal’s conservation. The donation will be presented at a special Earth Day Fair hosted by Alcatraz Cruises, a supporter of the campaign.

After a 65-year absence, porpoises have made an amazing return to the San Francisco Bay. To celebrate this success and to ensure the marine mammal’s continued residence in the Bay, National Wildlife Federation and Golden Gate Cetacean Research have partnered on a “Return of the Porpoise to San Francisco Bay” campaign.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2013/04/weekly-news-roundup-april-26-2013/feed/0795335 Reasons to Download Ranger Rick Apps for Kids, Now On Sale for Earth Dayhttp://blog.nwf.org/2013/04/5-reasons-to-download-ranger-rick-apps-for-kids-now-on-sale-for-earth-day/
http://blog.nwf.org/2013/04/5-reasons-to-download-ranger-rick-apps-for-kids-now-on-sale-for-earth-day/#respondMon, 22 Apr 2013 14:00:44 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=78327Have you downloaded the newest Ranger Rick iPad® apps yet? If not, your family is missing out! Ranger Rick now has digital fun for kids of all ages, starting with Ranger Rick Jr. Appventures: Lions for 4–7 year olds. It’s an interactive storybook that takes children on a journey through African grasslands to learn about lions with Lars the Lion and Ricky Raccoon.

Older explorers aged 7–12 can subscribe to Ranger Rick’s Tree House, an app that invites kids to explore Ranger Rick’s tree house home, a place filled with intriguing rooms and all kinds of wildlife fun.

Still not convinced? Here are five great reasons to get your paws on these apps:

Left: Ranger Rick Jr. Appventures; Right: Ranger Rick’s Tree House

1. They’re on sale right now for Earth Day

This one’s a no brainer. Since Ranger Rick is Earth’s best friend, we’re celebrating his favorite holiday with a sale on his apps. Both Tree House and Appventures are 60% off all week long, from April 22–29. That means they’re $1.99 instead of $4.99! See, I told you, no brainer.

2. They teach kids about animals and nature

If your kids are fascinated by the animals on the pages of the magazines, they’ll love all the ways that animals come alive in our apps.

In Appventures: Lions, kids discover videos, photos, animation, and illustrated factoids as they wind their way through a tale about lions told by their friendly guides, Lars and Ricky. It’s impossible to get bored when there’s so much to explore. In the Tree House, the experience of reading a fascinating Ranger Rick adventure story gets even richer. Wildlife articles spring to life with eye-popping photos, clickable facts, funny animations, wildlife sounds, and more.

A scene from the interactive photo story in Appventures: Lions

3. They encourage kids to get outside

Kids can open the back door of the Tree House to find ideas for nature crafts and outdoor activities. They can even log the time they spend outside in their own backyards. And Appventures will get kids so excited about wildlife that they’ll want to embark on a safari in their own backyard!

5. They’re FUN!

Do you want to compose a tune with the soothing sounds of a lion roaring and an elephant trumpeting? Or create an animal with a cheetah’s tail, zebra’s body, and giraffe’s neck and head? The answer is yes, of course, and with Appventures you can do that and have a lot of other silly animal fun. You can even go on a photo safari: pick up the iPad and move it all around to snap shots of all the lions in the pride.

For more of a challenge, stop into the Tree House and play games like Ribbit Rodeo, where you lasso up a tasty meal of bugs for a hungry frog, or Manta Mission, where you help Manta Ray race through underwater roadblocks to get to the Manta Party on time. You can also venture into the “bFunny” room to laugh at comic gems like, “What do kangaroos eat for breakfast?” (Pouched eggs.)

Left: The “Make an Animal” game from Appventures; Right: “Ribbit Rodeo” game from Tree House

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2013/04/5-reasons-to-download-ranger-rick-apps-for-kids-now-on-sale-for-earth-day/feed/078327Our Favorite Apps Where You Pretend to be Animals or Naturalistshttp://blog.nwf.org/2013/03/apps-where-you-pretend-to-be-animals-or-naturalists/
http://blog.nwf.org/2013/03/apps-where-you-pretend-to-be-animals-or-naturalists/#commentsThu, 07 Mar 2013 16:19:19 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=75560Earlier this month, I shared our reviews of apps where you learn animal facts. Well, my kids Nora and Russell were keen to keep testing apps – so we branched out to a new type – apps for people who want to BE the animal or naturalist in the games.

We learn in different ways and these apps appeal to the type of learner who learns by doing – or a kinesthetic learner. Instead of reading or listening to facts, you LIVE the facts!

In most of these apps, you move through a world by tapping or dragging your finger. Often you can play these games without the ability to read, making them appealing to younger children.

Here are my kids’ favorite apps of this type:

BeBee the Bee – This was my son’s favorite app of ALL the apps we tested. You are Bebee flying around gathering pollen and nectar. When you see a flower, you tap above it and pollinate the flower. You also have to avoid obstacles such as other bees, thorns and dragonflies. My son was already familiar with the concept of pollination so I don’t know if he really learned a lot by playing this game, but he kept asking to play it because he enjoys games where he moves through a world gathering points. My daughter enjoyed this game as well. There is a free version of this app and you can unlock more levels for $1.99 or $2.99.

BeBee the Bee app

Great Migrations HD – In this app, you learn about migrations of species such as monarchs, salmon, zebras and red crabs. You start with monarchs. One somewhat humorous aspect of this app is that if you have your sound on, the whole time it is playing some very dramatic scary music, like you might hear at the most dramatic moment of a movie. While migrations are definitely dramatic, that gets tiring and in fact, at one point, Nora got so stressed when her monarchs started to die that she said, “I just can’t do this!” I suggested we turn off the sound and then she enjoyed the game very much. She would take the role of the lead monarch, and she would experiment with the wind patterns, predators such as spiders and other obstacles to move her monarch friends to safety. She really enjoyed this game. This app costs $0.99.

Great Migrations app

Isopod: The Roly Poly Science Game – You are a “roly poly,” one of those tiny bugs that rolls into a ball when threatened. To play, you hold your iPad in two hands and slowly manipulate it back and forth as if the roly poly was a marble on the surface of the iPad, and you were trying to roll it back and forth. You have goals to bump into some types of insects to win, and avoid others to lose. The insects in the game are realistically drawn and their real Latin names are given. The predator/prey relationships are shown, although some insects have special powers like giving you more health. I found this game exciting because I don’t normally use an iPad this way, and it took practice. My son liked it more than my daughter. Both my kids love bugs, but it would not be a good choice if you are scared of spiders or find it creepy to listen to them chomping on insects. This app costs $1.99.

Isopod: The Roly Poly Science Game app

Pocket Frogs – This was my daughter’s favorite app of all the ones we tested. It took us a minute to figure this out, but then she was collecting frogs, breeding them and making eggs in her frog nursery. She was completely excited about learning about frogs and managing her froggy world. The sound that the frogs make when they hop around in the pond is completely adorable, and this is coming from a parent who listened to it for a very long time. As Nora got more advanced with the game, she was strategizing which frogs to breed to create the cutest frog possible. This is a free app.

Pocket Frogs app

Wild Kratts Creature Power – My son is a huge Wild Kratts fan. A few years ago, he became so interested that he and his dad designed costumes like the ones in this show out of cardboard and ribbon, so he could be a cheetah and have super powers. So I was quite sure the app would be a huge hit for him. Sure enough, he loved it. Even though it is not designed for iPad yet, we downloaded it to the iPad and it just didn’t fill the screen. But that didn’t stop Russell. By putting on his creature power suits, he could live like a bee, raccoon and elephant. This app costs $2.99.

Wild Kratts Creatures App – Bee

One feature he loved was that I could take his photo with the iPad and his face would be put into a graphic so it looked like he was wearing one of the power suits.

Wild Kratts Creatures App – My son’s face with the bee body

Which Wildlife and Nature Apps Does Your Family Enjoy?

We’d love to hear about your experiences with these apps or others. Of course nothing connects children with nature and wildlife more than time outside, so be sure to balance your screen time and green time today.

Also, I want to put in a plug for National Wildlife Federation’s award-winning kids’ magazines, because my kids love them. When you subscribe to our magazines, it helps National Wildlife Federation continue our work of engaging children to care about nature! Subscribe to Ranger Rick and Ranger Rick Jr. magazines today!

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2013/03/apps-where-you-pretend-to-be-animals-or-naturalists/feed/475560The Best Apps for Kids who Love Animal Factshttp://blog.nwf.org/2013/02/best-apps-for-kids-who-love-animal-facts/
http://blog.nwf.org/2013/02/best-apps-for-kids-who-love-animal-facts/#commentsFri, 15 Feb 2013 19:24:26 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=74445I want my kids to have screen time that is ideally connected to increasing their creativity. As a wildlife conservationist, I would also love it if they learned something about wildlife.

I want apps with the following qualities:

Appealing to my kids – They want to interact with it.

Appropriate reading – The reading level works for a six-year-old and a nine-year-old.

Good wildlife content – After they play, they have new information about wildlife.

Inspirational – After they play, this app comes up in conversation. They build on the concepts they learned either in their art or creative play.

We tested apps on an iPad2.

Meet Nora and Russell

Their profiles might help you know which games would appeal to your kids.

Nora is nine. Nora enjoys playing outside. She knows every inch of the stream behind our house. She wants to be a marine biologist when she grows up. She has phone calls with her cousin where they exchange interesting fish facts. In Ranger Rick and Ranger Rick Jr. magazines, she wants to read the animal articles and jokes. Nora prefers apps where she learns about animals and creates a world for them to live in.

Russell is six. He does not go outside to play on his own steam, although once he is outside, he loves to climb trees and act out dramas with his sister and friends. In Ranger Rick and Ranger Rick Jr. magazines, he goes for the games and jokes. Russell prefers apps that test his skill with the device, such as how fast can he move through a virtual world. He is a good reader for his age, but would rather explore a game through trial and error than by reading. He likes learning the rules and explaining them in detail to the rest of the family.

Even though they have different interests, they often like to look at apps together. So the best apps make sense to both their learning styles and reading levels.

Our Favorite Kid-Friendly Nature and Wildlife Apps

I searched for “best kids nature apps” and most apps I found did not teach about wildlife or nature. Most had a cute animal as the main character teaching how to read, do math or make art. While those are great goals, I was looking specifically for apps that increased my kids’ knowledge of wildlife and nature.

These apps reward you for learning facts about animals or nature. They usually require the ability to read.

These apps are listed in alphabetical order.

Click the Birdie – This is a National Wildlife Federation app where you take photos of birds in various habitats to fill out your scrapbook. I don’t feel I can rate this app because it was made by my family! I say my family because my husband coded the app, and kids tested it every step of the way. Of course we love this app, but check it out for yourself! The little girl in the Southwest habitat is named Nora in honor of our Nora. This app costs $0.99.

Click the Birdie app – “Nora” in the Southwest

Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence – I thought my fish-loving daughter might enjoy this app, even though it is not particularly designed for children. It is about a exhibition that was at the American Museum of Natural History. My guess was correct. The subject matter caught her attention, and while slideshows or video of typical animals would not interest her, we are talking about species that glow in the dark! She also liked the video about how they made the models for the museum exhibit. This app is free.

Meet the Insects: Forest Edition – Did I mention how much my daughter loves bugs? This app looks quite formal and a bit like a text book, but I have a daughter whose favorite books are field guides, so she loved it. We joked that most of the videos show males fighting over females because hey, what else could you videotape about an insect’s life and keep audiences interested? We loved the style which is a mix of cartoon and realistic art. Nora commented more than once, “These are really nice pictures.” She made the insect videos more exciting by adding her own dialogue. Russell was not interested in this one. This app cost $3.99.

A sample screen from the app “Meet the Insects”

Nature Tap – You are shown four species. Then you hear a bird call and you guess which bird is making the sound. With the insect module, you are shown the name of an insect, and you have to guess which insect matches the name. My daughter loved this app and wanted me to buy a lot more modules. The bird module is free and the insect module is free if you register. Other modules cost $1.99 or $2.99 each.

A girl playing the app “Nature Tap” on her iPad

Ranger Rick’s Appventures – What I find with most kid-oriented apps is that they contain one game or one concept, and so the kids “get it” quickly. What’s different about Appventures (and Tree House, below) is that they are multi-layered apps. It takes time to find all the parts. So the first time they each visited these apps, they looked around quickly, played one game and left. But what I found was each time they opened this app, they discovered a new thing. My son’s favorite parts were the puzzle utility, where you can put together simple or complex puzzles made from animal photos. He also liked the game which was like Photo Safari where you look through a habitat for animals and take photos of them. You hold your iPad with two hands and tilt it to see all sorts of nooks and crannies in the lion’s habitat. I won’t spill the beans, but make sure you look up in the sky when playing this game. Nora’s experience was different because really this app is designed for children younger than her. But what I found was that she enjoyed this app when playing with her brother. She would make him laugh by acting out dramas on the Sticker page or adding color commentary to the music area (where the keyboard keys sound like a lion, elephant or baboon.) This app brought my kids together. This app costs $4.99. This app is made by National Wildlife Federation.

Ranger Rick’s Appventures app

Ranger Rick’s Treehouse – Nora liked the dolphin book where she could learn facts and get more wildlife jokes. She also liked the outdoor time journal in the backyard area, recording all her outdoor time with the goal of earning a badge. She liked that at the end of the leopard game, the leopard finds its kitten. My son liked the dolphin flip game, especially when it got up to the two and three dolphins at one time. For some reason, my son found the video of the “dancing wallabies” to be completely hilarious and proceeded to watch it about twenty times. There is a free version of the app as an intro. Then this app costs $4.99 for one issue or $19.99 for an annual subscription that sends new content quarterly.

Ranger Rick Treehouse app

Survival – There are a lot of apps called Survival, so when you are searching, look for the one with the icon of the orange frog. You answer quiz questions about animals in rapid succession. The longer you “survive,” i.e. answer correctly, the more photos of an endangered species you get to see at the end. It takes practice because the method of answering the questions changes from one question to the next. At first, it was too difficult for my son, but he liked the bright colors and competing against his dad to survive longer. My daughter struggled with the “pinch” feature which is one way of answering questions, but figured it out. You really learn a lot about wildlife facts with this app, and you learn to answer fast! This app is free.

Survival app – sample screen

Tick Bait’s Universe – I would not have guessed that my kids would enjoy this app because it seems like too simple of a concept. However, it was recommended by Warren Buckleitner who reviews children’s apps, so I downloaded the free version. The app starts with a dog named “Tick Bait” and you can zoom in on his skin or out to outerspace. In the free version, you get to zoom about 13 levels, and with the paid version, you get more levels. The graphics are all hand drawn, not photographs. My kids got really excited about this app, even though it required lots of reading. This app is free and the paid version costs $4.99.

Tick Bait’s Universe App

Weird But True – Not all the facts in this app are about wildlife or nature, but many are. You are shown one interesting fact after another, and you rate how weird you find the fact. One bummer about this app is that every time you start it, it shows you the same facts. It is free and made by National Geographic.

Weird But True app

Which Wildlife and Nature Apps Does Your Family Enjoy?

We’d love to hear about your experiences with these apps or others. Of course nothing connects children with nature and wildlife more than time outside, so be sure to balance your screen time and green time today.

Also, I want to put in a plug for National Wildlife Federation’s award-winning kids’ magazines, because my kids love them. When you subscribe to our magazines, it helps National Wildlife Federation continue our work of engaging children to care about nature! Subscribe to Ranger Rick and Ranger Rick Jr. magazines today!

Update on March 7:

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2013/02/best-apps-for-kids-who-love-animal-facts/feed/674445Conan O’Brien Meets a Cockatoo, Caracal and Crocodilehttp://blog.nwf.org/2012/09/conan-obrien-meets-a-cockatoo-caracal-and-crocodile/
http://blog.nwf.org/2012/09/conan-obrien-meets-a-cockatoo-caracal-and-crocodile/#respondWed, 05 Sep 2012 16:35:33 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=65990As National Wildlife Federation’s resident naturalist and media personality, I get to go on television shows to talk about conservation and to share some amazing animal ambassadors.